Vehicles, such as military vehicles, sometimes require armor to protect the vehicle and its occupants from harm when the vehicle is in a hostile environment, for example. The type of armor used on a vehicle will primarily depend on the type of anticipated threat, but consideration will also need to be given to the effect of the armor on the vehicle's performance (e.g. the effect on speed and/or maneuverability due to the weight of the armor).
Applique armor is routinely used to provide a sacrificial or readily replaceable piece of armor, which defeats certain threats very effectively, but may not provide high levels of general protection from all forms of hazard threats likely to be encountered.
It is known to use perforated armor plates to protect against kinetic energy projectiles such as ballistic firearm ammunition. Perforated armor comprises a sheet of armor, such as hardened steel, with a plurality of holes therethrough. In addition to being less heavy than solid armor (due to the presence of the holes), perforated armor can provide improved protection against ballistic projectiles. This improved protection at least partly arises from the increase in edged surfaces (i.e. around each hole) that are presented to an incoming ballistic projectile. With an increase in edged surfaces, an Incoming ballistic projectile is statistically more likely to impact (or, at least, partially impact) on one of the edged surfaces and thereby experience a higher pressure than it would if it was to impact on a flat surface (such as unperforated armor). The increase of pressure increases the likelihood of the ballistic projectile disintegrating on impact or being deflected and thereby reducing its energy, and thus its ability to penetrate the armor.
An example of an armor assembly comprising perforated armor is described in EP-A-0209221 (The State of Israel Ministry of Defence Rafael—Armament Development Authority). The armor assembly of EP-A-0209221 is specifically designed for armored vehicles and comprises a perforated armor plate mounted to a conventional armor plate and spaced therefrom.
As mentioned above, whilst the addition of armor increases a vehicle's defenses against ballistic projectiles, the added weight can impair the vehicle's ability to maneuver and travel at its optimal or preferred speed or acceleration rate, even when lighter perforated armor is used. This is a particular problem when considering vehicles that may be travelling in and out of known safe areas where no or less protection is required, or when travelling in areas where it is undesirable to compromise the vehicle's speed, acceleration or maneuverability. In these cases, the armor must be removed from the vehicle which is an onerous task that requires the personnel to be in possession of the appropriate tools.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an armor assembly that overcomes the problems associated with the prior art.